It's hard to be a working mom in the US — which makes it easy to look across the pond to Europe, where many countries have progressive policies that support working parents. But being a Euro mom is no Euro-cinch.Getty Creative

The US can be a tough place to be a working parent. We’re the only developed country that doesn’t have paid parental leave, (only about 16 percent of American companies offer paid leave, and many families end up incurring debt after the birth of a child), and we have an established workaholic culture that makes it difficult to work reasonable hours and see your kids. Affordable, high-quality child care options for young children are few and far between, and while high-quality child care exists, it can cost as much as college tuition. (Low-income parents are especially vulnerable, with inconsistent and unreliable work schedules making it hard to line up any child care at all.)

Leaning in can be a challenge in a country where a sick day can send parents scrambling to find backup care — which makes it easy to look across the pond to Europe, where many countries have wildly progressive nationwide policies that support working parents.

It’s no great leap to think that being a Euro mom must be a Euro-cinch.

Now, many of these policies are indeed amazing (although admittedly much easier to enact in countries with high taxes, low birthrates and small populations). But the policies themselves don’t always tell the whole story.

Austria’s family leave policies may be progressive — but the attitudes often aren’t.Handout

I recently went back to Vienna, Austria, where I grew up, and spent some time with my friend Tova, a Canadian woman who married an Austrian man. She works, writes a hilarious blog about being an expat living in Vienna and is the proud mom of a little boy.

While I was drooling over talk of two-year partially paid family leave following the fully paid 16 weeks maternity leave, IVF treatments that are largely covered by the government and the fact that, by law, women must stop work two months before their due date and can’t go back to work until two months after birth, Tova wanted to make sure I understood that Mutterschutz — “mother support” — while pretty damn cool, wasn’t all flowers and unicorns. Here’s why:

Yes, the two-year family leave (financed by social security) is amazing. But sometimes, being on the hook for Mutterschutz can make managers less likely to hire married women at all, for fear they will get pregnant and leave for two years following their 16-week fully paid maternity leave. One Austrian friend told me a story about a pal who had a “non-pregnancy clause” in her contract, stipulating that she wouldn’t get pregnant for at least three years upon starting work there. Your company is required to hold your job until you come back from family leave — but they can fire you a month after you return. Why? So they no longer have to dole out any more of that sweet, sweet Mutterschutz should you become pregnant again.

While Austria has a generous paternity leave, there’s still a prevailing notion that moms should be the main caregivers, housekeepers and cooks, even if they work.Shutterstock

The policies may be progressive — but the attitudes often aren’t. “Some of these policies end up holding women back as a group,” pointed out Tova. “Once you have a baby, there’s sometimes a perception of you as a mom, not an employee. Clients and managers will actually say things like, ‘Shouldn’t you be at home with your child?’ ” Attitudes like this can often mean fewer options for advancement and raises. And while Austria has a generous paternity leave, there’s still a prevailing notion that moms should be the main caregivers, housekeepers and cooks, even if they work.

You’re legally required to tell your boss as soon as you find out you’re pregnant — and provide medical proof. This would go over like a lead balloon in the US, to say nothing of the painful situations that might arise in the event of a miscarriage or complication.

You’re put on a perpetual mommy track. There are plenty of options for women to work part-time — any woman who has been at a company for three years or more is entitled to it — which is pretty fantastic. Not fantastic is the fact that all this part-time work, in addition to being low-paid, can add up to a perpetual mommy track, with women having little seniority and not much power. And it doesn’t necessarily end: Even when kids are older, and mothers might want to transition back to full-time, it’s often not an option.

Pity the Rabenmutter. We certainly know a thing or two about working-mom guilt in the US — but, for the most part, people aren’t going to call you out for working or loving your job (and if they do, you can tell them exactly where to get off). In Austria and Germany, however, public opinion might feel free to declare you a Rabenmutter — a “raven mother,” after the raven (apparently the terrible moms of the bird world, as they nudge their babies out of the nest upon hatching). It’s easy to shrug off an insult here and there, but when you’re getting criticized by everyone from the grocery store cashier to your boss, that’s a tough pill to swallow.